Loaf packaging machine



July l2, 1966 D. w. ENocH r-:TAL 3,260,031

LOAF PACKAGING MACHINE IN VEN TOR DURD WI ENOC'h' CLARENCE KIEFFAEER CRLC PERKINS' JI?. ROGER J SC'HBEDE'R MERLIN A. STCKE'LBER a 6 W gw 7ATTORNEY July 12, 1966 D, w. r-:NocH ETAL 3,260,031

LOAF PACKAGING MACHINE Filed Jan. 29, 1963 15 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig. 2

INVENTOR DUARD W ENOC'H CLRENCE A4 KIE'FFBER CARL C.' PERKINS JR, ROGERJ SCHROEDER MERLIN STICKE'LBER A T TORNE Y July l2, 1966 n. w. ENOCH Em.3,250,031

LOAF PACKAGING MACHINE Filed Jan. 29, 1963 15 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORDUARD m ENocH CLARENCE A. KJEFFABER Fl' 5 255 CARL c! PERKINS JR. .9'ROGER di SCHEDE/7M MERLIN A. ,S'TJC'KELBER A TTORNEY July l2, 1966 D, w.ENocH ETAL 3,260,031

LOAF PACKAGING MACHINE Filed Jan. 29. 1963 15 Sheets-Sheet 4 nu Lum IHN20@ VENTOR 24o DUARD wf ENocH CLARENC'E A. KJEFFABER 0.4121. c. PERKINSJR, ROGER J 501112051953 MERLIN A. sTfc'KELER J TTORNE'Y July 12, 1966D. w. l-:NocH ETAL 3,260,031

LOAF PACKAGING MACHINE Filed Jan. 29, 1963 13 Sheets-Sheet 5 IN VEN ToRDUARD W ENocH @LARENUE A. KIEFFABER @ARL c'. PEMJNS JR. 7 l ROGER JSCHROEDER g' MERLIN A. STJCKELBER TTORNE'Y July 12 1966 D. w. ENocH ETAL3,260,031

LOAF PACKAGING MACHINE Filed Jan. 29, 1963 13 Sheets-Sheet 6 270INVEA/Toza DURD W ENOC'H CLARENCE A. KJEFFBER C'RL C'. PERKINS JR. RUGERJ SC'HROEDER Fig 9 MERLIN A. STIC/(FLEET ATTORNEY July 12, 1966 D. w.ENocH ETAL 3,260,031

LOAF PACKAGING MACHINE l5 Sheets-Sheet 7 Filed Jan. 29, 1963 Q) .mi E??www5@ Y m f TNWN W NEzmRK/v@ EWKRHM O V A507@ 7 mp PS3 T RmaJ A MN RADmmm AMOL m if M5 h (mw @KN MVN www mwN mmm MMM FGW July 12, 1966 D. w.ENocH ETAL 3,260,031

LOAF PACKAGING MACHINE Filed Jan. 29, 1963 13 Sheets-Sheet 8 459 505 /455/5 4&0

459 4&0

IN VEN TGR DUARD W ENOC'H CLARENCE KE'FFBER CARL CZ PERKINS JR. ROGER JSCHROEDEE MERLIN STCKELEE'R ATTORNEY July l2, 1966 D, w. ENocH ETAL3,260,031

LOAF PACKAGING MACHINE Filed Jan. 29, 1963 13 Sheets-Sheet 9 2 i /22/40/40 /40 LQ* A A /55L 7 /35 T95 2L- Fig. 15 (35 INVENTOR W W X7 .Dz/ARR WE11/och* ,5, /4/ /4/ /4/ CLARENCE A. KJEFFRER FM4, CARL c'. PERKINS JR.ROGER J SUHROEDER MERLIN A. STJCKELBER Fag. 14 f1 @W5-ri July 12, 1966D. w. ENocH ETAL 3,260,031

LOAF PACKAGING MACHINE 13 Sheets-Sheet 10 Filed Jan. 29, 1963 FzgZ-INVENTOR f DURD W ENOCH CLARENCE KEFFBER C'BL C.' PERKINS' JR.

ROGER I SCHROEDE'R MERLIN STIC'ELEER y 429ML ATTORNEY July 12, 1966 D,w. ENocH ETAL. 3,260,031

LOQF PACKAGING MACHINE Filed Jan. 29, 1963 13 Sheets-Sheet 1l eefINVENTOR /5/ DURD W ENOCH CLARENCE KIEFFBER C'ARL C. PERKINS JI?.

u y ROGEJZJSCHROEJJER 249 MERLIN .4. .sT/@KEMER United States Patent O m'3,260,031 LOAF PACKAGING MACHINE Duard W. Enoch, Kansas City, Mo.,Clarence A. Kieffaber, Overland Park, Carl C. Perkins, Jr., PrairieVillage, and Roger J. Schroeder, Overland Park, Kans., and Merlin A.Stickelber, Kansas City, Mo., assignors to Interstate BakeriesCorporation, Kansas City, Mo., a corporation of Delaware Filed Jan. 29,1963, Ser. No. 254,749 11 Claims. (Cl. 5.3-76) Our invention relates tobread loaf packaging machines, and more particularly to a machine forpackaging a sliced loaf of bread.

More specifically our invention relates to a machine for packaging asliced loaf of bread in such a way that the package can be easily openedand reclosed at one end thereof when desired, for the removal of slicesfrom the package, and reclosure of the package, and even for replacementof some ofthe removed slices in the package and reclosure thereof,should this be desired. In order to provide such a package, the machineis designed to fold and seal the wrapper at one end of the package inthe usual manner and to overlap the wrapping material extending aroundthe loaf and seal it on the bottom side of the loaf in the usual manner,but to avoid sealing the other end of the package at the other end ofthe loaf, the breaking of which seal results in the tearing of thewrapper so that it can no longer be tightly closed, and provide aremovable and replaceable closure at that end of the package, bycontracting the extended wrapping material at that end of the loaf sothat a tie can be applied thereto, preferably by gathering said extendedwrapping material and twisting it on itself, and tying the twistedwrapper closely adjacent the loaf, so as to make the package air tight,with a tie that is capable of being repeatedly twisted into packageclosing position and untwisted to open the package.

The wrapping of sliced bread has resulted in considerable diliicultybeing encountered in opening and reclosing the package by the user ofthe sliced bread, contained in the usual package in which the slicedbread is put up for selling, which is `ordinarily a wrapper of heatsealing material, such as parain or waxed paper, thermoplastic sheetmaterial, or other transparent heat sealing wrapping material. In theordinary manner of preparing the package, the sheet material, such aswaxed paper, or other thermoplastic transparent sheet material, that isheat sealed, is folded over at the ends of the loaf and the overlappedplies sealed so as to completely seal and enclose the package at theends of the loaf, and the package is provided with a longitudinaloverlap along the bottom of the loaf to provide an overlapped seam, atthe bottom of the loaf, which is also heat sealed. When such a packageis opened by breaking the seal at one end thereof and some of the slicesof the bread removed, it is impossible, unless a very large amount ofthe bread is removed, to again close up the package so as to preventdrying out of the slices of bread that remain in the package, because ofdamage to the wrapper or because, even if the wrapper is not torn, thereis insufficient material at the opened end of the package to tightlyclose it again manually.

Our improved machine provides a package for a sliced loaf of bread thatwill permit closure of the package that has yonce been opened, so thatany slices of bread that may have been removed, that it may be desiredto replace, can be replaced therein, and which will be capable of beingclosed air tight, or substantially air tight, even when only a fewslices have been removed, or if no slices have been removed, it beingpossible to open one end thereof and reclose the package to its originalcondition 3,260,031 Patented July l2, 1966 under any and all conditions.While sliced bread has been packaged in plastic film bags that had sucha removable and replaceable closure, this had to be done manually andthe sliced bread in the package became disarranged because it wasloosely positioned in the bag.

Our improved packaging machine provides a sliced bread loaf package thathas a wrapper of heat sealing material that is wrapped transverselyaround the loaf tightly so that the wrapper conforms to the shape of theloaf and which has its longitudinal edges overlapped and the overlappingportions sealed to each other with the wrapper closely conforming to theshape of the loaf, and in which one end of the wrapping material isfolded on itself and sealed in position against one end of the loaf,while the other end of the wrapper extends far enough beyond the otherend of the loaf that it is gathered together and twisted and a tieplaced around the same so as to tightly close that end of the package,which tie can be removed so that access can be had to the interior ofthe wrapper to remove any number of slices of bread therefrom, andeither replace some of them or merely replace the heel on the loaf, orreplace none of the removed bread, and again close the package by meansof the tie member by manually twisting the wrapping material andreplacing the tie member tightly around the twisted wrapper closelyadjacent the end of the loaf, so that the slices will all stand up inthe package in their usual side by side, face to face relationship inlongitudinal alignment with each other. This is possible because thewrapper corresponds in shape to the corresponding portion of the loafaround which it was wrapped, whereby each part of the package will titclosely the slice that was located in that part of the package at thetime the package was formed. As the machine twists the extended portionof the wrapper tightly to a point closely adjacent the end of the loafon which the package is not folded and sealed, the wrapper is tightenedclosely around the sliced loaf at that end of the package and the slicedloaf will stand up in the package duri-ng handling from the time itleaves the packaging machine until received by the purchaser andtransported to the place of use thereof.

It is a purpose of our invention to provide .a bread loaf packagingmachine that is provided with means for wrapping a length of wrappingmaterial wider than the length of the loaf around the loaf with the endsof the material overlapping under the loaf and with the overlappedwrapping material extending beyond both ends of the loaf, means forfolding the extended wrapping material against one end of the loaf andsealing the folded material at that end of the loaf, as well as meansfor sealing the overlapped ends of the wrapping material on the underside of the loaf, the wrapping material extending from the end of theloaf that is not sealed, being longer than that at the sealed end of thepackage, and means being provided for gathering together and twisting onitself this extended wrapping material and applying a tie memberthereto, closely adjacent the other end of the loaf.

In our machine, the folding means and sealing means for closing thebottom and the one end of the package are of the usual character, andthe extended unsealed end of the wrapping material is acted on to beginthe gathering operation, during the folding and sealing operat-ions ofthe machine for the end and bottom of the package. In folding thematerial at one end of the package an arm is ordinarily utilized fordoi-ng some of the folding, which arm also holds one end of the loaf sothat the slices will not become separated. A similar arm, modified forthe purposes of this machine, is provided for engagement with the otherend of the loaf to also hold up that end of the loaf and prevent theslices from becoming separated. This last mentioned arm is utilized fordirecting the extended wrapping material that is to be twisted, intoguideways, that are provided for gradually bringing the tubular extendedportion of the wrapper together into a substantially flattened tubularform, for presentation to the twisting mechanism.

Our invention further includes means for maintaining the sliced loaf inposition with all of the slices of the loaf in face to face engagementwith each other from the beginning of the wrapping operation until thetwisting of l the extended portion of the wrapper is done, said meanscomprising a guide member engaging the sealed end of the package andguiding means for the other end of the package, comprising a pair ofguide rods that engage the extended end of the wrapper in closeadjacency to the end of the loaf from which the wrapper extends, to holdsaid wrapper closely against said end of the loaf and to support thesliced loaf between these guide rods and the guide member that engagesthe sealed end of the loaf. The guide members that are at the extendingend of the wrapper, are of such a character that the same engage theextended portion of the wrapping material at spaced points, said guidingmeans comprising parallel guide members that are parallel to the abovereferred to guide rods, and are located laterally outwardly from theguide rods. Said guiding means comprises upper and lower guide membersthat gradually converge toward the twisting mechanism, so as to bringthe wrapping material gradually together in a flattened form,with theupper portion of the tubular extension of the wrapper being brought intoclose adjacency with the lower portion thereof.

In a bread wrapping machine it is customary to provide pusher membersthat push the loaves during the wrapping and sealing operations over atable, or tables, and these pusher members are utilized for moving theloaf in its partially wrapped condition, from the wrapping station atone end of the machine to the twisting station, where the twisting meansis located. Due to the flexibility of the material used for wrapping thepackage and the fact that this material does not contain any bread atthe extended end thereof, and frictionally engages with the Vguidemembers as it slides along the same, the tendency is for the extendedportion of the wrapper to lag behind the loaf and not travel inlongitudinal alignment with the loaf around which the major portion ofthe wrapper extends. As it is necessary that this extended portion ofthe wrapper be in substantially central axial alignment with the wrappedloaf, when the twisting operation is performed, in order that thetwisted wrapper be properly formed and that it be located in the middleof the end of the loaf that is provided with the detachable closuremeans, means is provided for lining up the extended portion of thewrapper with the remainder thereof` that is around the loaf, comprisinggrooved friction rollers, in the grooves of which the guide members forthe wrapper extend, which friction rollers rotate at a higher peripheralspeed than the forward speed of the loaf, due to the action of thepusher members, whereby the alignment of the extended portion of thewrapper with the loaf is restored. In order that this relationshipbetween the extended portion of the wrapper and the loaf be maintained,rollers are provided between the fri-ction rollers and the twistingmechanism for conveying the extended portion of the wrapper into thetwisting mechanism and flattening the wrapper in a horizontal plane.

Our invention further comprises twisting mechanism for the extended endof the wrapper, comprising a pair of jaws, elongated lengthwise of themachine, that are mounted for rotation about an axis transverse to thelength thereof, said jaws being provided with inflatable members forclamping the extended wrapping material between the same, and means forrotating said jaws about said axis a plurality of times in order toprovide the desired twist in the extended portion of the wrappingmaterial, said means for rotating the jaws being provided with asuitable controlling mechanism whereby the twistupwardly from thetwisted end of the wrapper.

lthe tie member around the twisted wrapper.

ing operation is not begun until the loaf is in proper position, withthe extended wrapping material between the jaws, and the jaws have beeninflated to close the same and clamp the wrapping material therebetween,the means for controlling the rotation of the jaws being of such acharacter that the rotation of the jaws will be halted with the jaws insuch a position that the same will have the opening between the jaws inalignment with the guiding means for the extended wrapping materialleading to the twisting mechanism.

Our invention further includes means for applying a tie member to thetwisted wrapper that extends from the loaf, after the twisting operationhas been completed, comprising means for feeding tie materiaLwhich is inthe form of a continuous length, onto a pair of spaced supportingmembers providing a gap between the same, cutting off a length of saidmaterial after it has reached this position, and then applying this tiemember to the twisted extended portion of the wrapper. The twistedextended portion of the wrapper itself is used for bending the tiemember therearound in a U-form with the legs of the U extended In orderto accomplish this, the supporting means for the cut-off length of tiemember is mounted to move between a position below the axis of rotationof the twisting member into a position above the axis of rotationthereof and is provided with a recessed die member movable therewithcooperative with said twisted wrapper, and the operation thereof iscontrolled so that this movement takes place after the twistingoperation has been completed.

Means is provided in cooperation with the supporting means for the tiemembers, and located above the upper position thereof, for twisting theupwardly extending legs of the tie member about each other so as totightly secure The tie member is preferably made up of a flat band ofplastic material in which a plurality of substantially parallel ductilewires are embedded, and the wrapper is preferably made of a film thatwill easily twist into the form desired, such as polyethylene orpolypropylene. Any highly flexible film material is suitable forwrapping the loaf.

It is a further purpose of our invention to provide means forcontrolling the sequence of operations of the wrapper twisting, tieapplying and tie twisting means comprising a plurality of circuitcontrolling cams, which are continuously rotated, but which areinoperative to supply electrical energy to the controlling circuits thatoperate these various devices in sequence until the wrapped loaf hasreached the location at which the twisting and tying operations arecarried out, the controlling means comprising switching means engaged bythe wrapped loaf, when it reaches the above referred to location, andswitching means actuated by one of the cams, both of which switchingmeans have to be closed before the other cams will be effective toenergize the various controlling circuits for carrying out the sequenceof operations in their proper order.

Other objects and advantages of our invention will appear as thedescription of the drawings proceeds. We desire to lhave it understood,however, that we do not intend to limit ourselves to the particulardetails shown or described, except as defined by the claims.

In the drawings:

FIG. l is a top plan view partly broken away of our improved loafpackaging machine.

FIG. 2 is atop plan view of the portion of the machine at which thewrapper twisting and tying operations are carried out and adjacentportions thereof, on an enlarged scale, the loaf conveying means beingomitted.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary View partly in elevation and partly invertical section taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary Vertical sectional view, partly inelevation, taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view partly in Vertical section and partly inelevation, taken on the line 5 5 of FIG. 1, on an enlarged scale,showing the loaf supporting means in down position in full lines and inelevated position in dotted lines.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary section taken on the line 6 6 of FIG. 1 on anenlarged scale.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary section, on an enlarged scale, taken on the line7 7 of FIG. 1, showing the loaf supporting means in full lines in downposition and in dotted lines in elevated position.

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary view on an enlarged scale, partly broken away,taken on the line 8 8 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary view, partly in elevation and partly in verticalsection, on an enlarged scale, taken on the line 9 9 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary enlarged detail view partly in elevation andpartly in vertical section taken on the line N lt) of FIG. 2.

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary view partly in elevation and partly in verticalsection, on a slightly enlarged scale, taken on the line Il ll of FIG.2.

FIG. l2 is a fragmentary elevational view on an enlarged scale, taken onthe line 12 12 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 13 is a fragmentary enlarged side elevational View taken on theline 13 13 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 14 is a fragmentary view partly in vertical section and partly inelevation taken on the line 14-14 of FIG. 13.

FIG. 15 is a view partly in elevation and partly in vertical section ofthe twisting mechanism, showing the clamping jaws in uninflatedcondition.

FIG. 16 is a section taken on the line 16 16 of FIG. 15.

FIG. 17 is a view similar to FIG. 15, showing the clamping jaws ininflated condition.

FIG. 18 is a section taken on the line 18-18 of FIG. 17.`

FIG. 19 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the first step infolding the folded and sealed end of the wrapper and the correspondingposition of the holding and guiding arm for the open end of the wrapper.

FIG. 20 is a fragmentary perspective View of the open end of the wrapperprior to engagement with the guiding means therefor.

FIG. 21 is a similar view, as viewed from the other end of the wrapper,and showing the second folding operation at the folded end of thewrapper.

FIG. 22 is a view similar to FIG. 20, but showing a further advancedposition of the parts.

FIG. 23 is a View similar to FIG. 21, showing the partially foldedwrapper approaching the guide member with which the folded end of thepackage engages.

FIG. 24 is a fragmentary perspective view of the folded and sealed endof the package after the folding and sealing has been completed.

FIG. 25 is a similar view of the twisted and tied end of the packageafter the packaging operation has been completed.

FIG. 26 is a fragmentary enlarged detail view taken on the line 26 26 ofFIG. 2.

FIG. 27 is a similar view taken on the line 27 27 of FIG. 2. v

FIG. 28 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view on an enlarged scalethrough one of the guide plates.

FIG. 29 is a fragmentary detail view of the tie supporting slide indepressed position.

FIG. 30 is a similar view thereof in raised position.

FIG. 31 is a fragmentary plan view of the tie feeding means.

FIG. 32 is a fragmentary sectional view on an enlarged scale, taken onthe line 32 32 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 33 is a fragmentary detail View partly in section on the line 33 33of FIG. 30.

FIG. 34 is an enlarged sectional View taken on the line 6 34-34 of FIG.1, certain portions of the switch operating mechanism being shownsomewhat diagrammatically.

FIG. 35 is a diagrammatic longitudinal sectional view through a doubleacting solenoid valve.

FIG. 36 is a diagram of the operating circuit for the wrapper clampingand twisting means and the tie feeding and twisting means, and

FIG. 37 is a fragmentary detail view of the tie twisting member taken onthe line 37-37 of FIG. 3.

Referring in detail to the drawings, our improved machine is shown asbeing provided with a frame 30 having at one end thereof the framemembers 31 and 32. Mounted on the frame is a table having the portions33 and 34 which are in longitudinal and horizontal alignment with eachother. Said table forms a portion of a loaf conveyor, which includespairs of pusher members 35, which are mounted on arms 36 extending fromthe sleeves 37 that are iixed on the transverse shafts 38 to rotatetherewith. Said shafts 38 are mounted for rotation in suitable bearingsin the ears 39 provided on certain of the links of the sprocket chains40, which sprocket chains travel over guide bars 41 that extendlongitudinally of the machine at the -sides of the table members 33 and34 in upwardly spaced relation thereto. Also extending between thechains 40 in spaced relation to the shafts 38 are cross bars 42 andsprings 43 having end portions 44 that hook around the cross bars 42 andcoiled portions 45 extending around the shafts 38 and lixed at theircoiled extremities to said shafts 38, said springs 43 operating to holdthe rollers 46 in engagement with a guide bar 47, said rollers 46 beingprovided on the outer end of levers 48 that are keyed to the shafts 38.

The guide bar 47 is provided with a tapered end portion 49 and anupwardly curved portion 50, a' downwardly curved portion 51 and astraight portion 52, as will be obvious from FIG. 7, said straightportion 52 extending lengthwise of the machine to the end of the tableportion 34 remote from the table portion 33, and, as shown in FIG. 1l,terminates in an upwardly curved portion 53 at the opposite end thereoffrom the end yof the guide bar 47 shown in FIG. 7. The sprocket chains40 are driven in the direction indicated by the arrows in FIGS. 7, 8 andll by means of a suitable driving means, not shown. The sprocket chains40 operate over sprocket Wheels at opposite ends of the same. One ofsaid sprocket wheels 61 is shown in FIG. 7, said sprocket wheel beingmounted for rotation on the transverse shaft 62.

As the rollers 46 on the levers 48 engage the guide bar 47 at theupwardly curved end portion 53 thereof, the arms 36 and pusher members35 will move from the dotted line position thereof shown in FIG. 11 intothe upper dotted line position thereof shown in FIG. 7 traveling alongrelative to the upper runs of the sprocket chains 40, in the positionshown in the upper portion of FIG. 7 until -the end 49 of the guide bar47 is engaged by the roller 46 on -the lever 48 associated with a pairof said pusher ymembers 35 and arms 36. Upon engagement with theupwardly curved portion 50 of the guide bar 47 the arms 36 willgradually swing counter-clockwise, as viewed in FIG. 7, so that by thetime the lower end of the downwardly curved portion 51 of the guidemember is reached by the roller 46 the arms 36 will be swung to aposition such thlat these arms will extend vertically downwardly andwill continue in the lower dotted line position thereof shown in FIG. 7along the entire straight portion 52 of the guide bar 47 until theupwardly curved portion 53 is reached.

The loaves that are to be wrapped, which are ordinarily sliced, areordinarily fed from the slicing machine along a transverse track 63 bysuitable conveying means which are common to machines of this character,and are not shown in the drawings. The loaf, indicated at 64 in FIG. 7,will have 'a somewhat inclined position om the tmack 63, being guidedalong the track by the upstanding flange 65 with which the loaf 64engages. The usual wrapping mechanism provided in commercial breadwrapping machines, has a continuous length 66 of wrapping Imaterial ofdesired width fed to the same from a roll of said material and saidcontinuous length or web of wrapping matetrial passes `over a guidenoiller 67, which is located in approximately the position shown in FIG.7 with respect to the loaf 64 when it reaches its final position for thecommencement of the wrapping operation, with an end portion 68 of saidwrapping material extending down over the loaf andbelow the top edge ofthe track 63 as shown in FIG. 7. Said commercial wrapping machines areordinarily provided with ia pusher member 69, the operation of which istimed so that, after the loaf has reached the position shown in FIG. 1,said pusher member moves to the left sufficiently to push the loaf andthe wrapping material engaged therewith onto a movable support 7i),which support is in the full line position shown in FIG. 7 at the timethat this action takes place. Said supporting member 7? is in the formof a plate which has a reduced end portion 7i shown in FIG. l, that ismounted to pivot about the axis of the shaft 72 mounted on the framemembers 3l. Arms 73 and 74 are mounted on the brackets 75, whichbrackets are also mounted to swing about the shaft 72 as an axis, alongwith the supporting member 70. Said brackets are provided with sleeves76 that are mounted on the shaft 72 to turn thereon, and are furtherprovided with bearing members 77 in which the pivot pins 78 are mounted,and with rollers 79 that operate between the flanges 80 of a chaneledguide bar mounted for limited movement transversely of the lengththereof on the supporting member 70.

Mounted for rotation in suitable bearing members 81 on the frame members31 is a shaft 82, which has oppositely threaded portions 83 thereon thathave correspondingly screw-threaded sleeves 84 mounted thereon foradjustment toward and away from each other by rotation of the shaft 82.A cam portion 8S is provided on each of said sleeves 84, which camportions engage with the bracket members 75. The cams 85 are providedwith high portions that are engaged by the members 75 when the loafsupporting member 78 is in its down position, which is the full lineposition thereof shown in FIGS. and'7, such engagement causing amovement of the channeled guide member that has the side flanges 80,toward the left in FIG. l, and causing the brackets 75 to swing aboutthe pivots 78 so that the arms 73 and 74 will have the dotted lineposition thereof shown in FIG. l. The arms are urged toward the fullline position shown in FIG. 1 and the brackets 75 are urged toward thecams 85 by any suitable means, such as a coil spring, extending betweenthe pivot pins about which the rollers 79 rotate, such a spring beingshown at 86 in FIG. 1.

The conveyor 63 deposits the loaf 64 in such a position that it will bein transverse alignment with the space between arms 73 and 74 when itreaches its delivery position on the conveyor 63. Accordingly, when thepusher member 69 moves the loaf 64 to the left in FIG. 7 onto thesupporting member 70 in its lowered position, the arms 73 and 74 will bein their separated or dotted line position, as shown in FIG. 1, and theloaf will readily move into position between the arms 73 and 74 into theposition shown in FIG. 19. At the time that this lmovement takes place,the depending end 68 of the Wrapping material will be drawn in under theloaf between the plate 70 and the loaf 64, into the position relative tothe loaf shown at 87 in FIG. 19. As the loaf with the wrapper partlyaround it moves onto the supporting member 70 the wrapper will beengaged by the arms 73 and 74. The arm 74, which may be referred to as atucker, acts as a folding member to fold a portion of the wrapperprojecting from one end of the loaf, as shown at 88 in FIG. 19. Theportion 87 of the wrapper that is under the loaf is also folded over asshown at 89 by the arm 74, which, `as will be obvious from FIG. 19, hasa rectangular portion 90 that engages the wrapper.

It is not desired to fold the other end of the wrapper that engages thearm 73, and the arm 73 is accordingly cut away as shown at 91 to providea reduced end portion 92 thereon, which acts as holding or guide meansfor the end of the sliced loaf 64 that is adjacent the arm 73. The arm73 is al-so narrower th-an the arm 74 and has a downwardly inclined edgeportion 93 that provides a downwardly projecting enlargement 94 betweenthe cutaway portion 91 and the downwardly inclined portion 93. Theaction of the portions 91 and 92 of the a-rm 73, in movement of the loaf64 onto the supporting member 70 and into engagement with said arm 73,will cause the projecting end 95 of the wrapping material to be pusheddownwardly below the top of the loaf at the upper side of the projectingportion of the wrapper and the Wrapping material 95 will 'be pushedsomewhat inwardly toward the free edge of the portion 87 that is locatedunder the loaf, as shown in FIG. 19. The arm 73 thus acts as a guide tosupport and position the adjacent end of the loaf to maintain the properpositioning thereof while permitting the wrapper to extend outwardlytherefrom as illustrated in FIGURE 22.

Upon the loaf reaching a position in which it is confined completelybetween the arms 73 and 74 yand entirely supported by `the supportingplate 70 and the pusher member 69 moves away therefrom and thesupporting member 70 is swung upwardly about the axis lof the shaft 72by suitable operating means, which is ordinarily provided on thewrapping machine, moving to the dotted line position thereof shown inFIGS. 5 yand 6. The arms 73 and 74 are moved inwardly toward each otherinto the full line position as this movement of the supporting member'70 takes place. A stationary folding plate 96 is mounted on a support97 extending from the frame member 31. As the supporting member 70 movesfrom the full line to the dotted line position thereof, or from itsdepressed to its elevated position, as shown in FIG. 5, with therectangular folding portion 90 thereof between the folding plate 96 andthe end of the loaf, the end of the wrapper which extends outwardly fromthe end of the loaf adjacent the member 74 is engaged by the foldingmember 96 to fold the upper portion of the wrapper downwardly, as shownat 98 in FIG. 2l, said folding plate 96 having a downwardly inclinededge portion 99 and an upwardly inclined edge portion extending to theextremity thereof, to thus provide a rounded downward projection 101thereon, said inclined portion 100 and rounded portion 101 serving tofold the projecting end of the wrapper into the downwardly extendingfold 98. During the upward movement of the supporting member 70 to thedotted line position thereof shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, the wrappingmaterial 66 is engaged with a cutter (not shown), which is so positionedthat it cuts olf the desired length of the wrapper for extensioncompletely around the loaf and to provide an overlapped seam on theunder side of the loaf.

After the downward fold 98 has been made by the upward movement of theloaf along with the supporting member 70 into its dotted line position,one pair of the pusher members 35 reaches the position at which theroller 46 on the arm 48, associated with said pair of pusher members,engages the straight portion 52 of the guide bar 47 where the downwardlycurved portion 5I joins said straight portion 62, and said pushermembers 35 will engage the loaf 64 to move it from the supporting member70, to the right in FIG. 7, or to the left in FIG 5. In such movementthe loaf will first pass over a roller 102, which .is mounted for freerotation about its axis on the frame and then onto the table portion 33,which has a depending flange 103 adjacent the roller 102. This movementdraws the wrapper tightly around the loaf so as to closely conform tothe cross sectional contour thereof.

The end of the wrapper, that was engaged by the arm 74 and by thefolding member 96, moves into engagement with a vertically extendingguide plate 104, which has a suitable electrical heating element 105 anda curved guide ange 106 provided on the outer face thereof. Said guideplate has a curved edge portion 107, a straight bottom edge 108 and anupwardly inclined rear edge 109. A guide plate 110 is mounted inlongitudinal alignment with the guide plate 104 and has a suitableelectrical heating element 111 mounted on the outer face thereof and hasan upwardly inclined forward edge 112 and an inclined guide flange 112extending along said edge 112, as well as a straight bottom edge 113engaging with the top of the t-able 33. The edge 108 of the guide plate104, being spaced from the top of the table member 33, provides ahorizontal slot 114 between the same and the top of the table 33, whilethe spaced inclined edges 112 and 109 provide an upwardly :inclined slot115 between the same.

The end of the length of wrapping material that has been cut off fromthe main body of wrapping material 66 hangs down on the side of the loaf64 that is forward as the loaf is pushed onto the table portion 33, thisdepending portion of the wrapper being shown at 116 in FIG. 21. Theextremity thereof will be dragged under the loaf on the under side ofthe end portion 87 of the wrapper, as shown at 117 in FIG. 2l, as theloaf moves onto the table portion 33. A portion of the wrapper will thusbe projecting outwardly from the loaf and will gradually be folded intothe position thereof shown in FIG. 23 at 118, the portions 89 and 118projecting from the loaf, as will be obvious from FIG. 23. Theseportions will be adjacent the top of the table 33 and will pass into theslot 114be tween the guide plate 104 and the table top and eventuallyinto the slot 115 as the loaf is moved along by the pusher members 35.Such movement of the projecting portions 89 and 118 in the slot 115 willcause the portions 89 and 118 to be folded upwardly to create the upwardfold 119 of the wrapper. These folding operations are the same as areordinarily carried out on both ends of a loaf in a wrapping machine andthe sealing elements 105 and 111 actin the usual manner as the wrapperpasses along adjacent the same to cause the wrapping material to beheated to the point that the material of the wrapper or the coatingthereon will become tacky and will cause the plies to be sealed togetherafter leaving the heating elements and cooling below the temperature atwhich the plies or the coating thereon will be in a tacky condition. Thebottom portions 87 and 117 provide the overlapped seam at the bottom ofthe loaf and heating elements 120 and 121 on the under side of the tableportion 33, are located as may be found desirable and provided in anynumber desired, to provide the desired heating and resulting sealingaction of the overlapped seam -on the under side of the loaf.

As the loaf 64 with the wrapper around it as shown in FIG. 19, movesaway from the arms 73 and 74 over the roller 102 and onto the tableportion 33, the other end of the wrapper, which is not to be sealed, hasassumed the position shown in FIG. with the projecting portion 95thereof having a somewhat tubular shape and having been depressedsomewhat on the upper side thereof by means of the arm 73 with theportions 87 and 117 on the lower side thereof in overlapped relation asshown in FIG. 20. While the guide plates 104 and 110 will conne the oneend of the loaf so as to hold the slices in their proper side by siderelationship as the loaf leaves the arm 74, means must also be providedfor confining the other end of the loaf that has the portion 95 of thewrapper projecting therefrom. Said means comprises an upper guide bar122, which is provided with an offset 123 therein to provide an outerend portion 124 thereon, which is upwardly and outwardly olfset from themain body portion 122 of the guide bar and with which a guide plate 125having an upwardly curved end portion 126 cooperates, said guide platebeing mounted on a bracket 127 having a vertical shaft 128 providedthereon for mounting the plate 125 for adjustment about the axis of saidmember 128, a suitable clamping member 129 being provided on the plate125 for securing the plate in adjusted position on the bracket 127.

The shaft 128 is also vertically adjustable in the eye 130 provided onthe end of the bracket 127, so that the plate 125 can be adjusted to thedesired position to guide the wrapper into engagement with suitableguiding means, and the end of the loaf from which the wrapper portionprojects into engagement with the guide bar 122, as the loaf is movedfrom the supporting member 70 onto the table portion 33. The end portion124 of the guide bar 122 and the guide plate 125 are located above thearm 73 when the loaf is on the supporting member 70 in its raised,dotted line position, as shown in FIG. 7. Cooperating with the upperguide rod 122 is a lower guide rod 131, which has an inclined upper edge132 providing a tapered end portion 133 thereon, which terminatesclosely adjacent the top surface of the table portion 33 at the endthereof adjacent the roller 102 and serves to guide the lower portions117 and 87 of the projecting wrapper portion 95 upwardly from the levelof the top of the table 33.

The guide bars 122 and 131 are mounted on a plurality of horizontallyextending bracket arms 134 and 135, that are mounted on verticallyextending bracket members 136, which are mounted for vertical adjustmenton the brackets 137 by means of the headed fastening element 138 on thebracket member 137 that extends through a slot 139 in the bracket member136. Mounted laterally outwardly from the guide bars 122 and 131 on thehorizontal bracket members 134 and 135 so as to be in substantialhorizontal alignment, respectively, with the under side of the guide bar122 and the top side of the guide bar 131, are the guide members 140 and141, the guide members 140 being in transverse alignment with eachother, and the guide members 141 being in transverse alignment with eachother. The guide members 140 and 141 are made of small rods or wires.Said guide members 140 will thus extend in parallelism to the guidemember 122 and in horizontal alignment therewith and the guide members141 will extend in parallelism to the guide member 131 and in horizontalalignment therewith, said guide members 140 and 141 being locatedlaterally outwardly from the guide members 122 and 131, respectively.Transverse bracing members 142 are also provided between the guidemembers 140 and 141 between the bracket arms 134 and 135.

It will be obvious that the guide members 122 and 131 along with theguide members 140 and 141 can be adjusted so as to vary the verticalposition thereof with respect to the top of the table portion 33. Saidguide members are mounted on the bracket members 136 and 137 so that theguide member 122 inclines downwardly from the end thereof having theguide plate 125 associated therewith and the guide member 131 inclinesupwardly from the end 133 thereof, said guide members 122 and 131 andthe guide members 140 and 141 thus gradually approaching each other in adirection away from the ends thereof at which the wrapper portion 95 rstengages therewith.

The loaf, as it is moved along the table portion 33 by means of thepusher members 35, to the end thereof adjacent the table portion 34, isconfined between the guide bars 122 and 131 at one end and the guideplate at the other end thereof. Thus, while one end of the wrapper isbeing folded and sealed, and the under side of the wrapper sealed airtight, at the overlapped joint made up of the end portions 87 and 117 ofthe wrapper, by engagement with the various folding and heating meansand the cooling thereof after disengagement from said heating means, theother end 95 of the wrapper is being gradually gathered together in aattened somewhat oval form, as shown in FIG. 13. The portion 95 of thewrapper extends outwardly from the loaf 64, as shown in FIG. 14, theguide bar 122 forcing the wrapper downwardly around the end of the loaf64, as shown at 143, and the guide bar 131 forcing the wrapper upwardlyaround the end of the loaf, as shown at 144, so that the wrapper closelyfollows the contour of the end of the loaf except for the projectingportion 95 between the two guide bars 122 and 131.

Extending from the ends of the guide bars 122 and 131, remote from theirentrance ends, are guide plates 145 and 146. Said guide plates are inlongitudinal alignment with said guide bars. Mounted in transversealignment with the bottom edge of the guide plate 145 and the top edgeof guide plate 146, in a similar manner to the alignment of the guidemembers 140 and 141 with the guide bars 122 and 131, are the guide rods147 and 148, the guide rods 147 having the upwardly curving end portions149 and 156 at opposite ends thereof and the guide rods 143 havingdownwardly curving end portions at opposite ends thereof, the downwardlycurved portion at one end thereof being shown in FiG. 3 at 151 and atthe other end thereof at 152 in FIG. 26.

A longitudinal plate-like frame member 54 is provided in outwardlytransversely spaced relation to the guide plates 145 and 146. Transversebraces 55 are provided for properly spacing the guide rods 147 and 14S,said transverse braces 55 being fixed to said guide rods 147 and 14S andextending between the guide plates 145 and 146 and the longitudinalframe member 54. Said transverse bracing members 55 are secured rigidlyin fixed position to said guide plates 145 and 146 and the frame member54. Referring now to FIG. 26, it will be noted that the guide plates 145and 146 have inclined edge portions 56 and 57 thereon and straightparallel edge po-rtions 58 and 59 extending from the inclined entranceedges 56 and 57, thus providing a gradually narrowing slot 6i) betweensaid guide plate 145 and 146 at the entrance end thereof leading to thenarrow slot defined by the edges 53 and 59 thereof. The end of the guiderod 122 extends under the downwardly inclined edge 56 of the gu-ideplate 145 and the guide rod 131 extends slightly beyond the guide rod122 and over the upwardly inclined edge 57 of the guide plate 146. Theguide rods or wires 147 and 148 extend substantially parallel to thebottom and top edges, respectively, of the guide plates 145 and 146,except that the lower guide members 148 have portions 184 that overlapthe end portion of the guide rod 131 and align therewith, said guidemember 131 having a tapered extremity 135. The extending portion 95 ofthe wrapper will thus be guided into the tapering slot 66 and into thenarrow passage therefor provided between the parallel edges 58 and 59 ofthe guide plates 145 and 146.

Cooperating with the guide rods 147 and v148 are grooved frictionrollers of yieldable material 153 and 154, the rollers 153 receiving therods or wires 147 in the grooves 155 thereof and the rollers 154receiving the rods or wires 148 in the grooves 156 thereof. Said rollersare rotated in the directions indicated by the arrows in FIG. 3. Alsocooperating with the guide rods 147 and 148 are grooved metal rollers157 and 158, which are provided with the grooves 159 and 160 receivingthe wires or rods 147 and 148, respectively, and rotating in thedirections indicated by the arrows in PEG. 3. The purpose of the rollers153 and 154, which are of resilient gripping material, such as rubber,is to align the extended portions 95 of the wrappers with the endcenters of loaves 64 so that the same will be centered relative to thelongitudinal axis of the loaf. Due to the fact that the loaf is beingpositively moved forwardly along the table portions 33 and 34 by thepusher members 35, and because of the frictional engagement of thewrapper portion 95 with the guide members 122, 131, 145, 141, 145, 146,147 and 148, the extended portion 95 of the wrapper will lag behind theloaf 64. It is desirable that this lagging of the wrapper be correctedso that when the wrapper is twisted the twist will be substantiallycentrally of the loaf at the end thereof at which the extended portion`of `the wrapper is located. n order that this straightening isaccomplished, the rollers 153 and 154 are rotated at a higher peripheralspeed than the speed of forward movement of .the loaf on the tableportion 34. It will also be noted that the peripheries of the rollers153 and 154 project toward each other beyond .the guide rods 147 and 148to thus positively grip the extended portion 95 of the wrapper betweenthem.

Mounted on the frame 35 is a motor 161 (see FIGS. 2 and 8), which isprovided with a sprocket wheel fast on the shaft 162 thereof that drivesthe sprocket chain 163 in the direction indicated by the arrows in FIG.8. The sprocket chain 163 operates over a sprocket 186 xed on the shaft164, which also has a gear 165 mounted thereon to rotate therewith, thatmeshes with the gear 166 that is fixed on the shaft 167. Thus the shafts164 and 167 rotate, in the direction indicated by the arrows in FIG. 8,at the same speed. The shafts 167 and 164 have the rollers 153 and 154mounted thereon to rotate therewith. The size of the sprockets and therate of rotation of the shaft 162 is such that the shafts 164 and 167rotate at such a speed that the peripheral speed of the rollers 153 and154 wil-l be considerably greater than the rate of travel of thesprocket chain 40, which carries the pus-her members 35 lengthwise ofthe table portions 33 and 34.

A sprocket 168, which meshes with the lower run of the sprocket chain40, is mounted on the shaft 169 to rotate therewith, and a sprocket 170is also mounted on the shaft 169 to rotate therewith, the sprocket chain171 extending over the sprocket 170 and being driven in the direction ofthe arrows in FIG. 8. The sprocket chain 171 operates over a sprocket137 that is xed on the shaft 172, on which the gear 173 is also mountedto rotate therewith, the gear 173 meshing with a gear 174 on a stubshaft 175. The shafts 172 and 174 have the rollers 157 and 158 mountedthereon to rotate therewith. The sprocket drive means for the shaft 172-is of such a character that the peripheral speed of the rollers 157 and158 at their peripheries 176 and 177 is approximately that of the speedof the sprocket chains 40. It will be noted, upon reference to FIG. 3,that the peripheral portions 176 and 177 of said rollers are quite closetogether, where the guide rods 147 `and 148 pass through the grooves 159yand 160` of said rollers, projecting considerably -inwardly toward eachother beyond said guide rods 147 and 148, thus pressing the projectingportion of the wrapper 95 into a quite flattened shape, this flattenedcondition of the projecting portion 95 of the wrapper being shownclearly in FIGS. 15 and 16.

A pair yof upstanding brackets 178 is provided on the frame 30, saidbrackets each having a screw-threaded opening therein closely receivingthe screw-threaded portion 179 of a mounting member 180, which ismounted for rotation but against endwise movement in the guide plate181. Said guide plate has an outwardly curved entrance end 182 and isadjusted by means of the hand wheel 183 toward and away from the guideplates 145 and 146, the guide plate 181 being preferably adjusted to aposition such that the end of the loaf that has the projecting end ofthe wrapper portion 95 will be kept in close engagement with the g-uideplates 145 and 146. The plates 164, and 181 (in conjunction with tucker74 and folding plate 96) thu-s cooperate to form abutment meansextending lengthwise of the loaf conveyor, which abutment means includesthe means to fold and seal one end of the package and also positionsthat folded and sealed end. Said abutment means cooperates with theguiding surfaces on ar-rn 73, the bars 122 and 133, and plates and 146that face said abut-ment means to confine the loaf between said guidingsurfaces and abutment means.

Mounted on the shafts 172 and 175 are sprocket wheels 188 and 189, withwhich the spr-ocket chains 190 and 191 engage (see FIG. 27). Mounted onthe guide plates 145 and 146 on pivot members 192 and 193 are the bellcrank levers 194 and 195. A spring connects the one arm of each bellcrank lever with the guide plate upon which it is pivotally mounted tourge the bell crank lever 194 about the pivot 192 in a counter-clockwisedirection and the bell crank lever 1915 about the pivot 193 in aclockwise direction, the spring attached to the bell crank lever 194being indicated by the numeral 196 and the spring attached to the bellcran-k lever 195 by the numeral 197. Mounted on the other arms of thebell crank levers are stub shafts 198 and 199 on which the sprockets 200and 201 are mounted, the sprocket chain 109 extending around thesprocket 200 and the sprocket chain 191 extending around the sprocket201. The `action of the springs 196 and 197 is to urge the sprockets 200and 201 toward each other, and thus the sprocket chains 190 and 191toward each other into close gripping engagement and with the extendingend 95 of the wrapper. Said sprocket chains 190 and 191 will betraveling at substantially the peripheral speed of the rollers 157 and158 and will thus engage with the extending end 95 of the wrapper tocarry it along at the same rate as the bread loaf 64 after the extendedend portion 95 of the wrapper has been aligned with the longitudinalcenter of the loaf by means of the rollers 153 and 154, and this actionof the chains 190 and 191 will continue until the peripheries of therollers 157 and 158 engage with the extending portion of the wrapper 95to carry it toward the left in FIG. 3 to the twisting mechanism.

Referring to FIG.v 4, a hollow shaft 202 is mounted in a bearing 203provided on the frame member 54 and is provided with a gear 204 mountedto rotate therewith, which meshes with a gear 205 mounted on a shaft206, said shaft being mounted in a bearing 207 on the frame member 54.Said shaft 206 is driven at intervals through mechanism to be describedbelow. The hollow shaft 202 has the twisting member 208 mounted thereonto rotate therewith, said twisting member 208 being provided with ahollow boss 209, in which the end of the shaft 202 is secured in liquidtight relation against relative rotation and against endwise movement.The bearing member 203 is a thrust bearing and is of such a characterthat the end face 210 of the boss 209 will be slightly spaced from theframe member 54.

The twisting member 208 is of a substantially U- shaped character havinga pair of hollow arms 211 and 212 `and a hollow connecting portion 213,the arms 211 and 212 terminating in end portions 214 and 215. The crosssectional shape of the end portions 214 and 215 is shown in FIGS. 16 and18, said portions extending toward each other and terminating in flanges216 and 217 that extend longitudinally of the twisting member formingportions of the clamping jaws of said twisting member extendinglongitudinally of the machine. Cooperating with the flanges 216 and 217are plates 218 and 219 that are secured to the flanges 216 and 217,respectively, by suitable securing elements to clam-p the marginalportions 220 and 221 of flexible members 222 and 223 fluid tight betweenthe flanges 216 and the plate 218 and between the flanges 217 and theplate 219. The plates 218 and 219 have central openings 224 and 225therein to provide communication between the passages 226 and 227, inthe hollow body portion of the twisting member 20S, and the interior ofthe flexible members 222 and 223.

A fluid tight swivel coupling 228 connects the hollow shaft 202 with aflexible compressed air conduit 229, to which air under pressure issupplied by a suitable valve, which is provided with controlling meansfor supplying the air under pressune at proper intervals thereto so thatthe flexible members 222 and 223 will be inflated into the positionshown in FIGS. 17 and 18 from the position shown in FIGS. 15 and 16. Theopening 230 existing between the inflatable members 222 and 223,comprising the gripping jaws of the twisting member, is in alignmentwith the opening between the guide members 147 and 148 at the dischargeend thereof, when the twisting member is in wrapper receiving position,so that the extending end of the wrapping material can readily passbetween said jaws as will be obvious from FIGS. 15 and 16. The loaf 64will be in close contact with the guide plates and 146 with the extendedportion of the wrapper 95 extending through the slot between the bottomedge 58 of the guide plate 145 and the top edge 59 of the guide plate146 at this time. Upon inflation of the gripping members 222 and 223 theextended portion 95 of the wrapper will be squeezed together, asindicated at 95', between the then closed gripping jaws 222 and 223 tofirmly hold the extended wrapping material 95 between said jaws.

The shaft 167 has a sprocket 231 mounted thereon to rotate therewith,over which the sprocket chain 323 operates, which also operates over asprocket 233 provided on a clutch mechanism 234, which is of such acharacter that it rotates the shaft 207 one complete revolution for eachtime that the clutch 234 is thrown into driving position. Suitablecontrolling means for the clutch is provided so that it will be actuated4to drive the shaft 206 at such a time that the extending end portion 95of a wrapper of a bread loaf 64 will be in position between the grippingjaws 222 and 223 and said jaws will have been inflated to grip theextended end 95 of the wrapping material. In order that the clutchmechanism and the shaft 206 will be halted at such a position that thegripping jaws 222 and 223 will be in a position with the opening 230between the same in alignment with the opening between the guide members147 and 148, locking fingers 235 and 236 are provided that have hubportions 237 and 238 that are freely rotatably mounted on a stub shaft239 extending from the frame member 54.

The finger 235 cooperates with the cam mem-ber 240 mounted on the shaft206 in fixed position. The shaft 206 is connected with the output sideof clutch 234, said clutch being of such a character that when the shaft206 is held against rotation the clutch will disengage. The holdingfinger 235 has a nose portion 242 thereon, providing a right angularstop shoulder 243 (see FIG. l0). The cam 240 has a high portion 244 thatterminates in a right angular shoulder 245, with which the shoulder 243engages to limit rotation of the shaft 206 in a clockwise direction asviewed in FIG. 10.

A disk 241 is mounted on shaft 246 to rotate therewith (see FIG. 32).Said disk has fa slot 338 therein, which is engaged by a dependinglocking portion 339 on the locking finger 236, -that fits the slot 338closely. The disk 241 is adjustable relative to the gear 205 by means ofheaded fastening element 350 screw-threadedly engaging in an opening inthe gear 205 and engaging in an arcuate slot 341 inthe disk 241. Byproviding the pin and slot connection between the stop disk 241 and thegear 205, it will be seen that the gear and disk can be adjustedcircumferentially of the shaft 206 relatively so that the engagement ofthe locking -portion 339 with the slot 338 will exactly line up the jawsof the twisting -member 208 with the guide members 147 and 148, as shownin FIG. 16. Means is provided for lifting the holding fingers 235 and236 to permit rotation of the shaft 206 and the gear 205 comprising aplunger 246, which is actuated by a piston in the compressed aircylinder 247 to project the plunger 246 upwardly against the under sideof the finger 235 to lift the same up sufficiently to disengage theshoulder 243 on the finger 235 from the shoulder 245 on the cam. The hub238 of the finger 235 has a lateral projection 336 thereon engaging `ashoulder 337 on the hub 237 to lift the finger 236 along with the finger235 to disengage

8. IN A BREAD LOAF PACKAGING MACHINE, A TABLE, MEANS FOR DEPOSITING IN APREDETERMINED LOCATION ON SAID TABLE A WRAPPED BREAD LOAF HAVING APORTION OF THE WRAPPER EXTENDED IN OPEN ENDED FLATTENED TUBLAR FORMENDWISE THEREFROM, TWISTING MEANS FOR SAID EXTENDED PORTION OF SAIDWRAPPER, MEANS FOR APPLYING A TIE TO THE TWISTED WRAPPER AFTER SAIDTWISTING MEANS HAS COMPLETED THE TWISTING THEREOF, AND MEANS FORCONTROLLING THE SEQUENCE OF OPERATIONS OF SAID TWISTING MEANS AND TIEAPPLYING MEANS, COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF CIRCUIT CONTROLLING CAMS, ACONTINUOUSLY ROTATING CAM SHAFT AND MEANS FOR SUPPLYING